| Wolfgang, which has been turning out sweets since 1921, offers increasingly popular free tours of its surprisingly low-tech facility. According to co-managing partner Michael Schmid, a Wolfgang family member, the plant, which is spread out over three buildings, had 6,500 visitors in 2003 and 13,000 last year.
The guided tour, which, unfortunately, doesn't include any Oompa Loompas (a la Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, begins with a walk of about a block from the visitors' reception area to a building that is actually an extension of the Wolfgang family's original house. It is here that 1,200 trays of candy, each holding 100 pieces, are processed every Monday through Saturday. The company markets 72 different varieties for retail and fundraising sales.
This building is where the milk chocolate is delivered for processing, either in 10-pound solid blocks or in liquid form that is pumped through a system of pipes. All told, Wolfgang uses about 1 million pounds of chocolate annually.
The approximately one-hour tour continues through the manufacturing and wrapping processes.
The image of chocolates on a conveyor belt was made into a pop culture icon by a legendary episode of I Love Lucy in the 1950s. Wolfgang employees actually work at such stations, including one where freshly made pieces of candy are taken off the machine and prepared for delivery.
Other stops on the tour look at how the candies are cooked, cooled, wrapped and prepped for shipping.
Of course, no one leaves the tour without sampling something right off the line. On a recent weekday afternoon, it was coconut candies that were taste-tested by guests.
While the Wolfgang Candy complex comes nowhere close to the size and scope of the Hershey Foods conglomerate in nearby Hershey, at least one visitor decided that, in the case of chocolate factory tours, bigger isn't necessarily better.
"I was more impressed with this," said John Maveus, a 38-year-old factory worker from Monroe, Wis., who was on a family outing to various locations in south-central Pennsylvania.
"It's not as commercial, not as overdone. And it was very informative. It was a good experience. The kids had a good time."
Although he has lived in York for a number of years, Jim Rouse, 79, was making his first visit to the plant, accompanied by his wife, Ruth, and their grandson, Luke Greisler, 6, also of York.
"It's kind of a hidden place. I didn't know the buildings were there," said Rouse, a retired transportation worker. "I thought it was great. I learned a lot about making candy."
His grandson was so taken by the tour it may have influenced the rest of his life.
"Eating the chocolates" was the best part of the tour, he proclaimed before announcing, "I want a job here!"
Reach Chuck Darrow at (856) 486-2442 or [email protected]
IF YOU GO
The Wolfgang Candy factory is at 50 E. 4th Ave., York, Pa.
Store hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays.
Tour Hours: 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, Saturdays by Appointment
Admission: Free |
